Transactions of 


THE HUDSON COAL COMPANY 


Vol. 1 Noe 


Discussion of this paper is invited. It will be printed and cir- 
culated previous to the meetings held in conjunction with the Safety 
Institute, at which it will be discussed. If this is not possible, then 
discussion in writing may be sent to the Secretary of the Institute, 
434 Wyoming Avenue, Scranton, Pa. Unless special arrangement 
is made, the discussion of this paper will close thirty days after the 
presentation of the paper, at the Safety Institute Meeting. 


MECHANICAL MINING 


By the Committee on Mechanical Mining 

Heo? KGYYN © RecChairman, 

Assistant to Vice-President and General Manager 
Jelek. BROWN, 

Assistant to Vice-President and General Manager 
Pee RETGCHARD; 

Colliery Superintendent. 
De lavAN HORN, 

Colliery Superintendent. 
GEORGE MASON, 

Assistant Colliery Superintendent. 
N. H. RAIBER, 


Special Engineer. 


JAMES LOFTUS, 


Assistant Inside Foreman. 


JOHN D. JONES, 


Machine Mining Foreman. 


69 
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MECHANICAL MINING 


IN ER@ DUC ELON 
CHAPTER 1.—MODERN COAL MINING MACHINES 


1 Percussive Machines 

(a) Punchers 

(b) Radial Percussive Machines 
PAG Lee 

(b) Disc 

(cya Ghain 


CHAPTER 2—AUXILIARY APPLIANCES 
(a) Trucks 
(b) Drills 
(c) Jackhammers 


(d) Compressors 


CHAPTER 3—LOADING APPLIANCES 


(a) Shovels 
(b) Conveyors 

(c) Loading Machines 

(da) S5Craper 


CHAPTER 4—-METHODS OF OPERATION 
(a) Headings 
(b) Chamber Mining 


(c) Longwall Mining 


CHAPTER 5—ORGANIZATION 


(a) Arrangement of Operations 


(b) Care of Machines 


CHAPTER 6—THE BENEFICIAL RESULT OF MACHINE 
MINING.TO THE ANTHRACITE INDUSTRY 


io) 


INTRODUCTION 


During the year 1917—77,062,787 tons of anthracite coal were 
produced of which 1,745,735 tons, or 2.3 percent., resulted from 
machine mine operations. As a contrast, in 1912 a tonnage of 
64,667,249 was mined and in that year, only 0.34 percent. was mined 
by machines. The growth of production from 0.34 percent. to 2.3 
percent. in five years is ample evidence of the importance of this 
subject. It would hardly be necessary to provide any further in- 
troduction, were it not for the fact that in the Anthracite Region 
the progress of machines has not been so rapid as in the Bituminous 
Fields of Pennsylvania where during 1917—172,448,142 tons of coal 
were produced, 95,423,140 tons or 55.3 percent. being machine 
mined, while 1912 had a production of 161,865,488 tons, of which 
machines produced 82,192,042, or 50.8 percent. Interest, therefore, 
in the whole question of machine mining does not rest so much on 
what has been accomplished in the past, as on what it is possible 
and necessary to do in the future. 


Mining machines were originally designated for cutting in 
bituminous coal only. Anthracite on account of its hardness, was 
long neglected as too troublesome a problem, and it has only been 
during the past few years, comparatively speaking, that the manu- 
facturers have turned their attention to the possibilities of the hard 
coal fields. The first machine to operate in anthracite was placed 
in the Butler Mine of the Hillside Coal & Iron Co., December 23, 
1910, by the Sullivan Machinery Company. This cutter had not 
been specially designed to mine this class of coal, but even with 
that drawback, two thirty-foot chambers were cut five feet deep in 
three hours, demonstrating beyond a doubt that with heavier equip- 
ment and some minor changes in design, mining machines would 
work in hard coal. Growing from this very recent start, there are 
now about 90 mining machines in the Northern Coal Fields. 


In the 100 years from 1761, over sixty patents were taken out 
for coal cutting machinery. In the most of them, some form of the 
miner’s pick was used, but by degrees this primitive idea was de- 
parted from and other inventors used first, some form of circular 
saw or disk; second, chisels or bits attached to moving chains; 
third, cutting by impact. In all these devices the machine was 
to be driven by hand, water, steam or compressed air. It was 
not until years after, that electricity came to play its part in machine 
mining. To its advent and application is due the commencement 
of a real success in coal mining. 


4 


GHA PA Rat 
MODERN COAL MINING MACHINES 
Types of Coal Cutting Machines 


In general, coal cutting machines can be divided into the fol- 
lowing groups: 

1. Percussive Machines 
(a) Punchers 
(b) Radial Percussive 

2. Cutting Machines 
(ayeeisat 
(b) Dise 
(c)e Chain 


1. PERCUSSIVE MACHINES 
Punchers 


Machines of this type work practically in the same manner as 
the miner does with the pick. It is set on a platform, 3 to 4 feet 
wide, with a slight pitch toward the face, the operator holding his 
foot against the wheel to retard the recoil. Owing to the rapid 
vibration caused by the recoil, this machine is heavy on the oper- 
ator. Fig. 1 shows the puncher type machine on its platform, the 
position of the operator, and his helper, who clears the cutting 
away from the machine. 





Figure I|—Punching Machine in Actual Operation. 


tn 


Radial Percussive Cutters 


In this type the cylinder of the machine is mounted on an 
extension column, provided with a worm gear, wheel and ratchet 
around which the cylinder with pick attached, can be revolved 
through 360 degrees, as shown in Fig. 2. In operation, the cutter 
is set up in the center of the gangway or chamber and by using a 
series of lengthening steels, 12-in.—24-in.—36-in. to 8 feet, provided 
with five prong removable cutters, undercuts a square face giving a 
six to eight foot undercut about fifteen feet wide. While two cuts 
are therefore required for a 30-foot chamber, one will cut out a 
gangway in slightly over an hour. The machine is readily set up, 
can be carried around rapidly by two men; will undercut in any 
position in the vein, and can, therefore, be used to eliminate bands 
of useless material. A speed of cutting equal to 840 square feet 
in 8 hours has been attained with this type of cutter in soft coal 
4 foot 6 inches high. This would be equal to four and one-half 
30-foot chambers with a six foot undercut in eight hours. As the 
machine is air driven, its efficiency depends largely upon the air 
pressure maintained. 





Figure 2—Radial Percussive Coal Cutter. 


Disk Machines 


The disk machine was designed for longwall work, and it is one 
of the heaviest and fastest cutters, cleaning out the kerf by its own 
action. In principle it is almost identical with a circular cut-off 
saw ina lumber mill, that is to say, the disk or circular saw is pulled 
or pushed into the material to be cut, and the cutting is done by 
means of bits or cutters inserted into the periphery of a wheel. 
Wheels of different diameters are used so as to undercut from three 
to six feet in the different sizes made. A disadvantage of this type 
is the liability of the wheel to get clogged or jammed by coal falling 
on the wheel or impurities in the bed, in the undercut. 


Chain Machines 


There are a large number of machines operating with a chain 
cutter, this class being the most universally used appliance in use 
to-day. The most important types are as follows: 

Shearing Machine 

Chain Breast Machine 

Arc Wall Machines and Overcutters 
Straight Face Machines 


Short Wall or Continuous Coal Cutters 


Ee me ek eee 


Longwall Machines. 


Shearing Machine 


Shearing is a method of obtaining faces of least resistance that 
is not practised in the anthracite region. The machine is held in 
position by three supports which are fastened to the bottom and 
the roof by extension screws. The machine makes a vertical cut 
from 5 to 7 feet deep and 3 feet at one setting. It is then raised 
or lowered by its own power to make another cut directly above 
or below the first. A truck carries it to the working face. 


Chain Breast Machines 


The introduction of the Chain Breast Machine was an impor- 
tant change for the better, over the first cutter bar machines. Fig. 3 
shows one of the latest types of chain breast machines, electrically 


N 


driven. In some cases a compressed air motor is provided. The 
movable arm carrying the chain and the motcr is fed forward at a 
speed of about one foot per minute, depending of course, upon the 
nature of the material cut, both ends of the machine being held in 
place by jacks. These jacks are attached to the machine and are 
screwed into the roof. The frame carrying the chain is triangular 
in form, and the front or cutting end of the triangle is three feet six 
inches long. The speed of the chain is from 250 to 275 feet per 
minute. 





Figure 3—Latest Type of Chain Breast Machine. 


In operation the machine is taken off the truck at the face and 
barred over to the right corner of the chamber or room. The cut- 
ting end is placed against the face, and the side of the machine is 
placed close against the rib. In this position the machine is securely 
jacked—the power turned on and the frame carrying the cutter 
chain is driven into the coal, making an undercut six feet deep and 
three feet six inches wide. When the cut is completed, the motor 
is reversed and the frame carrying the chain is withdrawn. The 
machine is then barred over three feet six inches and another cut 
made, this operation being repeated until all the face is undercut. 


There are a number of objections to this type of machine. In 
the first place, props have been kept back from the face at least 
twelve feet, which is a dangerous practice unless the roof is very 
strong. It takes considerable time and labor shifting machinery for 
each cut. Unless care is used there will be blocks of coal remaining 
uncut, and on account of the length of time required to make the 
cuts, there is great danger of the frame being jammed by falling 
coal. 





Figure 4—Arc Wall Mining Machine. 


Arc Wall Machines and Overcutters 


A comparatively new type of coal cutter is called “Arc Wall.” 
The machine is shown in Fig. 4. As its name implies, the path of 
the undercut is angarc of a circle, The machine willicut mom 
two feet to six feet above the floor, and is especially designed to 
cut out binders. It is self-propelling with a speed travel of 3% 
niles per hour. No time is lost in loading or unloading the machine 
from truck, as it is self-contained and ready to make a cut the 
moment it reaches the face. The machine can be built to cut any- 
where above the top of the rail, and it is adjustable while in opera- 
tion, carries a seven foot bar with a twenty foot sweep, and may 
be used for cutting chambers or headings. 





Figure 5—Arc Wall Machine Cutting 20-Foot Chamber. 


a 


Fig. 5 shows a perspective view of the machine in a position 
for cutting, Fig. 6 illustrates the methods used in cutting heading 
and in driving 20 foot chambers. 


CCHALL MACHINE CUTTING CUMBERS 6 HEADINGS - 





——it_ at 
READY TO SUMP UNSUMPED 
CUTTING CHAMBERS 


10 











Figure 7—Straight Face Machine Arm in Position for Sumping. 


Straight Face Machine 


The straight face machine, of which the Goodman is a good 
example, is, in a great many respects similar to the arc wall machine. 
Fig. 7 is a front view of the machine. The operation is wholly me- 
chanical, the cutter is self-propelled, remaining on the track while 
it cuts, with one sweep, a straight face, cutting places. from ten to 
twenty feet wide at any height. Automatic stops are provided for 
limiting the swing of cutter arm at any desired point at either side. 
The base of the machine is a steel casting mounted on four truck 
wheels. The top surface of the base on which the operating portion 
of the machine moves is machined. The cutter arm is adjusted by 
pinions working in racks at the four upright guides. Two motors 
are used, one for driving the cutter chain and raising and lowering 
the cutter arm, the other is used for feeding the machine, drilling 
for an anchor, and propelling the truck from place to place. The 
cutting element may be changed at any time from a center cutter 
to a top cutter or vice versa. A trolley pole is supplied for ma- 
chines running on haulage headings, and a cable reel for chambers. 
Figure 8 shows the various operations in obtaining a straight face 
ina heading. When driving a 20-foot place the cutter arm makes a 
sweep of 180 degrees. Of much the same character is one of the 
latest Oldroyd types of which some illustrations are given herewith 
which show quite clearly the range of cutting positions possible 
with this machine. Fig. 9 shows the chain cutter head lowered to a 
level with the bottom, or 9 inches below the level of the bottom, 
if’ the cuttine is not toowhard Mor picks. lhe cuttersncadscaumre 
lowered so as to raise the front trucks 9 inches above top of rail. 
This permits machine to lift itself on the track. The cutter head 
may then be mechanically and quickly raised to any height or posi- 
tion required. Fig. 10 shows the cutter head adjusted for center 
cutting. Ifa higher position than this is required, cutter head may 
be turned over and raised to a maximum height of 6 feet 6% inches, 
as shown in Fig. 11. 


! 


= 7 bo 
READY TO SUMP 


palit sade : aes 
FINISHING CUT 





12 





Figure 9—Oldroyd Chain Cutter Head Lowered Down to the Bottom, Below 
the Rail. 





Figure 10—Oldroyd Cutter Head Adjusted for Center Cutting. 





Figure 11—Oldroyd Cutter Head Raised Horizontally 6 Feet 614 Inches 


from the Bottom. 





Figure |2—Oldroyd Cutter Head Adjusted About 18 Inches from the Bottom. 


Fig. 12 shows cutter bar brought around to the right hand side 
of machine and adjusted about 18 inches from the bottom, ready 
to be brought around from right hand side across the face to under- 
cut a room 20 feet wide. Fig. 40 also shows very clearly that the 
machine can be used for slabbing a rib where the track is laid within 


1s 


two feet of the face of the coal. The same adjustment can be made 
in this position, that is from a level with the bottom to a height of 
6 feet 61% inches. 





Figure 13—Oldroyd Cutter Arm Brought Over to the Right Side of the 
Machine Ready to Make a Shearing on the Right-hand Rib. 


Tig. 13 shows cutter arm brought over to the right hand side 
of the machine, ready to make a shearing on the right hand rib. 
This shearing can be made by sumping in on a level with the top, or 
sumping in with the point of the bar on a level with the bottom, 
that is, the undercut can be made by bringing the bar up, or lowering 
the same down, aiter cutter bar is sumped under. The cutter bar 
can be adjusted horizontally across the face so as to make a shear- 
ing at any point required in an entry 8 feet wide. It will be noted 
in Fig. 13 that the machine is equipped with an automatic gathering 
reel to spool 350 or 600 feet of cable. 


Figure 14—Cutter Head Adjusted to the Center of the Track, Ready to Make 
Center Shearing. 


14 


Fig. 14 shows Cutter Head adjusted to the center of the track. 
ready to make a center shearing with point of bar raised ready to 
sump under on a level with the roof. 





Figure 15—Shows Cutter Head Lowered to Floor Ready to Sump Under and 
Make Shearing Upward. 


Fig. 15 shows cutter head lowered to the floor, ready to sump 
under and make a shearing upwardly. The point of bar can be 
brought up to a level with the roof, then the slow feed on the self- 
propelling track is reversed on a backmotion, drawing the cutter 
bar from under the coal, leaving a vertical shearing from the bottom 
to the top at any point required in an entry 8 feet wide. 





Figure 16—Shows Cutter Bar Adjusted to a Level with the Top of Machine 
in position to Swing Across a Wide Room, or the Same Position 


Can Be Used for Slabbing. 


Fig. 16 shows cutter bar adjusted to a level with the top of the 
machine in a position to swing across a wide room, or same position 
can be used for slabbing. By laying the track within two feet of a 
rib the bar can be brought around in the coal, or in a parting and 
machine arm be moved forward or backward along the face of coal. 
For cutting wide rooms at any width exceeding 20 feet, the track 
may be laid across the face and an undercut made at any point 
required from the bottom up to a height of 6 feet 614 inches. 








<« 1. Arrow No. 1 points to 
Worm Gear and Friction Feed. 


<—« 2. Arrow No. 2 shows Eccentric 
Shaft for tilting point of bar upwardly 
6” from the center, the same can be 
lowered 6”. 


Figure |17—Shows Cutter Bar Adjusted as Top Cutter to a Height of 6 Feet 
614 Inches, ready to Sump Under in Center of the Track. 


Fig. 17 shows cutter bar adjusted as Top Cutter to a height of 
6 feet 6% inches ready to sump in the center of the track, as Top- 
Cutter or Over-Cutter. When the bar is sumped under full depth 
it can be fed across the face from right to left, as may be to the best 
advantage. Arrow No.1 on this view points to Friction Feed which 
can be regulated from 12 inches to 36 inches per minute. Arrow 
No. 2 points to eccentric shaft which is used for adjusting the cutter 
bar vertically, with the eccentric shaft the point of the cutter bar can 
be raised upwardly 6 inches, the same adjustment can be made 
downwardly, so as to take advantage of an entry or room that may 
be going to the dip or the rise, allowing you always to hold an 
even top or even bottom. 





Figure 18—Oil Controllers for 250 or 500 Volts. Note the Accessibility in 
Getting to Contacts. 


16 





C 





Figure 18!4—Controller Cylinder and Contacts Raised from Oil Tank Ready 
to Make Any Repairs. It Will Be Noted When Cylinder Is Closed 
Down That All Contacts Are Submerged in Transformer Oil. 


Fig. 18 shows Oil Controller for 250 or 500 volts. It will be 
noted that the cylinder of Controller and Contacts, Fingers, Fuse 
Wires and automatic Blow-Out Coil is mounted on cover of con- 
troller. When the cover is raised from oil tank, all the working parts 
of controller are brought out of the tank, allowing quick adjust- 
nent without disconnecting any of the cables or Leads from Arma- 
ture or Fields. 


These machines are equipped with one 50 H. P. motor for 30 
minutes rating, or 65 H. P. for 15 minutes ratinoeeMotonmaee 
wound for 250 or 500 volts Direct current. A. C. Motors can be 
used if desired. The cutter bars are made any length from 5 to 10 
feet, and the machine is equipped with a powerful handbrake which 
is used in holding it to the face on heavy grades, and also when 
propelling on entries. 


Short Wall or Continuous Coal Cutters 


The short-wall mining machine has come nearer solving the 
problem of mining anthracite by machines than any other device so 
far invented. It occupies small space thus allowing props to be set 
close to the face; it accommodates itself to an uneven bottom and 
an irregular coal face; it unloads and loads itself by its chain or 
rope feed; it has a rapid cutting capacity and requires no laborious 
work on the part of the operatives. 


To the Sullivan Machinery Company is due the credit of devel- 
oping this type of mining machine. After a number of years of 


17 


experimenting, the first machine was brought out in 1902. At the 
present time there are four companies manufacturing continuous 
cutters. In design, and principle, these machines are similar, but 
differ from each other in detail. 


The motors have been designed to meet the mining laws, espe- 
cially where they operate in a gaseous mine, and either direct 
current or alternating current motors are furnished. The direct cur- 
rent motors are compound wound. In some machines the armature 
stands in a vertical position, thus doing away with bevel gearing. 
Fig. 19 shows the base and gearing of a machine with vertical 
armature shaft. 


SH OFT 


EIT aS CHAI ORI VE Ge ae 


SES DRIVE SAFETY Of ire £. Vn EMMETT 
a WOMCH DRIVE GERRI PONION 


PE BT ALOR RS 





Figure 19—Base and Gearing for Vertical Armature. 


The motors are rated from 30 to 50 H. P. for one hour con- 
tinuously. For gaseous mines, the motor and all other electrical 
parts are enclosed in an “explosion-proof” casing, and no machine 
should be allowed to work in a gaseous mine unless it bears the 
approval stamp of the Bureau of Mines. With some mining ma- 
chines the motors may be changed from the open type to the “per- 
missible explosion proof” type, by alterations that may be made in 
the field. 


In order to more clearly understand the difference in operation 
between the continuous cutter and the chain breast machines, Fig. 
20 is shown and should be compared with Fig. 21, which shows 
the operation of the chain breast machines. It will be noted that 
this machine makes the cuts in a series of runs or boards, each about 
the width of the cutter head. It will also be noted that the props 
are set from 12 to 14 feet from the face. Now by referring to Fig. 
20, it will be seen that the continuous cutter makes one clean cut 
across the face without withdrawing the jib, or cutter bar, and that 
the props may be set within five to six feet of the face. 


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In the following description of the continuous cutter, the four 
different makes of machines and a few details are illustrated. 


Fig. 22 shows the Goodman Short-Wall machine in cutting 
position. 


Fig. 23 shows the Jeffrey Short-Wall machine. 


Fig. 24 shows the Morgan Gardner Short-Wall machine with 
sheaves and guides for carrying the steel feed rope or drag line. 


Fig. 25 shows the Sullivan Short-Wall machine, the upper 
view of which shows the machine sumping with pan and sumping 
bar. The bottom view shows the position for making a continuous 
cut across the face with pan removed. The machine is set to cut 
from left to right. 





Figure 22—Goodman DA Short-Wall Machine. 





Figure 23—Jeffrey 35-A Short-Wall Machine. 


20 











Figure 24—Morgan-Gardner SA Short-Wall Machine. 








Figure 25—Sullivan Iron Clad Short-Wall Machine. 


Top View Shows Machine Sumping With Pan and Sumping Bar. Lower 
View Shows Machine in Position to Cut from Left to Right. 


2A 


Sketches of the Goodman machine are shown in Figs. 26, 27, 28 
and 29 which give a picture of its construction. On one machine the 
cutter arm is of solid, built up construction, with top and bottom 
smooth. ‘This construction has a tendency to prevent the arm 
from being jammed by the coal or caught by rough bottom. Fig. 
30 shows cutter arm and chain described above. The other cutter 
arms are open in the center and are either built up or solid, one 
piece, castings. Fig. 31 illustrates this type of cutter arm. 


Goodman Type 12-DA Short-Wall Machine. 
(Reversible) 














Figure 26—Goodman Type 12-DA Short-Wall Machine. 


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Goodman Type 12-DA Short-Wall Machine. 
(Reversible) 


Showing Operating Levers and Places for Oiling Bearings, Gears, Chain, etc. 


GIL CUTTER HEAD 
SPROCKET HERE 


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Figure 28—Goodman Type 12DA Short-Wall Machine Showing Mechanism. 


24 



























54602 LATCH 
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SHEAVE Sheave SOLAR $4489 SHEAVE 


SHORTWALL MAGHINE~ PARTLY ASSEMBLED 





Figure 29—Goodman Type 12-DA Machine Partly Assembled. 








Figure 30—Solid Cast Steel Cutter Arm. 








Figure 31—Solid Built-up Cutter Arm. 


Arms are furnished in lengths from 3% to about 10% feet to 
suit conditions. These arms are narrow, thus reducing the possi- 
bility of cramping or being caught under the coal, and allowing 
more freedom for guiding the arm upward or downward when 
cutting. 


On one make of machine there is a chain guard which covers 
the cutter arm and chain when being moved from place to place. 
The guard slides under the machine when the sumping cut is being 
made. The chain and bits travel around the cutter arm, being 
driven by a sprocket wheel on the machine end of the arm. The 
chain is kept in proper tension by an adjusting screw on the arm. 
In some of the machines the chain is made reversible, that is, the 
cutter arm will work from right to left or from left to right across 
tnesdcee Vio 32 shows-a cutter chain, 


The details of design of chains differ somewhat in the various 
makes of machines. The chain consists of blocks and straps so 
pitched that they engage with the sprocket wheel on the arm. In 
the blocks, the bits are held by means of set screws. The blocks are 
made for single or double bits or a combination of the two. The 
bits of either pick pointed or chisel pointed or a combination 
of the two arranged in three to nine positions to suit the cutting 
conditions. 


In feeding the cutter arm into the coal, a chain or rope is used, 
running through friction clutches or wound around a drum or 


26 


Goodman Type 12-DA Short-Wall Machine. 
(Reversible) 


Parts for No. 35 Reversible Bushed Cutter Chains. 
(Seven Positions for Blocks) 


“KEY 68363 


. CHAIN BLOCK 
te oe 
(SIDE VIEW? 


# 
SIDE UP BLOCK 
AND 
OUTSIDE DOWN BLOCK 


SE Sra eK 
SELUNL INS 


~ oF et £ 
SIRS) INS Oe RLOCK 
EI 


FIRST INSID WN BLOCK 


SECTION OF 


NO. 258 oe, on O4267 ECT . 
CUTTER CHAIN ET SCRE RIVET ‘ous 


(SIDE VIEW) CUTTER CHAIN 
ig (FRONT VIEW) 


4 POINT BIT 





Figure 32—Goodman Type 12-DA Short-Wall Machine Reversible Bushed 
Cutter Chains. 


27 


sheave with either a positive feed clutch or a hand controlled fric- 
tion. The drag line or tail rope is automatically or hand controlled, 
and governs the angle at which the cutter arm works, thus keeping 
the machine in proper position for cutting. 


Jib Section. Moter Section. Haulage Section. 





Figure 33—One of the Latest Types of Long-Wall Machines. 


* Long-Wall Mining Machines 


Fig. 33 shows one of the latest machines of this type. This 
machine consists of three sections as shown. ‘The first section 
is the jib and cutter chain mechanism; the second section or central 
section comprises the motor, which may be either electricity or 
air. In the figure the air motor is:shown in place, with the electric 
motor shown above. With a few alterations these motors are inter- 
changeable. The third or front section contains the hauling 
mechanism. All of these sections are rigidly held in place on one 
base plate. This machine is 29 inches wide, about 8 feet long and 
18 inches high, and the motors are of 30 to 50 H. P. 


The jib is held in position at right angles to the body of the 
machine by a locking pin. It is reversible, that is to say, it may be 
turned about 210 degrees so as to cut right or left handed. The 
jib may also be locked in a central position for transportation from 
place to place. When sumping, the haulage chain is attached to 
the jib and slewed under the coal until the locking pin drops in 
place. 


28 






iif Yyy iy Uy Yy 
Y, EY 


fy Yi Uy 





Yj 









NO THRUST 
NO CONTACT — hn 
WITH PROPS WEH 





NO S/DE 7rA/L 


MQ@q 
\ \ . 


(AKKKRK _ ACOA : WY | 
Ui 
Y/7/ ] 77 Yff 7 Ue YY Y/) 


Cross Section through coal seam with Ironclad at face. 


Figure 34—Cross Section of Machine Cutter Arm Under the Coal. 


_ 


al 


oe 
SS 
Le 








cy LY LY hL® 
SO 


= 
Q 





aU 


©) SS ps ee => 

iE SCs eee ‘mory 
pease] <6) any 
feales! | keyer 

LENGTH FFT pales 


Figure 35—Plan of Long-Wall Machine Cutting from Left to Right. 


} 
Ree 





y 














Figure 36—Jeffrey Long-Wall Machine—Mounted on Truck. 








Figure 37—Jeffrey Long-Wall Machine—Top View With Cover Removed. 


30 





Figure 38—Jeffrey Long-Wall Machine. 





Figure 39—Jeffrey Long-Wall Machine. 


Fig. 34 shows cross-section of a coal bed with the jib under- 
cut below the coal, and the body of the machine close to the face. 


It will be noted how close the props may be set to the face when 
necessary. 


Fig. 35 shows a plan view of the machine in operation. 


Figs. 36, 37, 38 and 39 illustrate the modern Jeffrey Long-Wall 
Cutter with swinging cutter arm. 


31 


GLA Re 


AUXILIARY APPLIANCES 
Trucks 


In order to keep up with the speed of the mining machine, it 
is necessary to follow its work with other labor-saving machines 
or devices. This is especially so at the present time on account of 
the scarcity of mine workers, and the thinness of the beds being 
worked. 


For moving the machine from place to place the self-propelled 
truck is almost indispensable. All of the companies manufacturing 
continuous cutters furnish self-propelled trucks with their ma- 
chines. Trucks may be equipped with trolley poles, which is an 
advantage when the truck is moved long distances over main haul- 
age roads. Usually they are geared to travel about three and one- 
half miles per hour. The platforms on which the machine rests had 
originally, one section, so that under some conditions the rear wheels 
would be raised off the rails, when the machine was being unloaded. 
Later the platform was built in two sections, the front section 
hinged over the front wheels as shown in Fig. 40. This! truck is 
known as the “drop front truck.” 








Figure 40—Goodman Drop Front Truck. 











Ae 





Figure 41—Jeffrey Turntable or Swivelled Drop Front Truck. 


32 


Another form of truck is known as the “Turntable truck.” The 
platform turns to any angle in a horizontal plane but does not tilt 
or drop, while a second type combines the “drop front” and “turn- 
table” feature which allows the machine to be unloaded or loaded 
directly from each corner of the chamber, or the platform may be 
turned at right angles to the road for the purpose of unloading 
the machine to cut cross-cuts or open chambers. This form of 
truck is shown in Fig. 41. In still another type of truck the front 
wheels of the truck are made smaller in diameter than the rear 
wheels, thus giving the platform a slight pitch forward. 





Figure 42—Goodman Machine on Truck With Reel Trailer Attached. 


Cable Reel 


This device is used to automatically pay out or take up the 
electric cable, thus prolongine the life ot the cable. =item cemic 
either attached to the truck as shown in Fig. 41, or carried on a 
separate truck coupled to the machine. In such a case, the device 
is called a “reel trailer,” and is shown in Fig. 42. 


Electric Drills 


The use of electric drills in the Anthracite Region is not very 
general on account of these drills not being adapted to all condi- 
tions as air drills are. 


There are two types of electrical drills; Figs. 43 and 44, namely, 
a directly driven electrical drill of the auger type, and the other 
an electrical drill where the electrical part drives a small air com- 
pressor which in turn runs the drill as a percussion drill. 


Of the first type drill, there are several different makes and 
sizes. The Fort Wayne drill is a heavy type auger drill mounted 
either on a tripod or column, and weighs 575 lbs. This drill has 
given good results in drilling coal, and the average rock in the 
Northern Anthracite fields. The great disadvantage of this drill 
is its weight and size, thus limiting its usefulness to operations 
where four or five men are employed to handle it and space enough 
to put it in. 


oo 





Figure 43—Electric Drill. 


Also, there is a drill made by the Howell Drill Mfg. Company. 
This is an auger type drill weighing about 200 pounds, and is more 
easily handled than the Fort Wayne drill. This drill seems to give 
good results in coal, and can drill the softer stratas of rock. This 
drill is also a heavy drill for general mining purposes, as it takes 
two or three men to handle it and requires room to work it in. 


There is an auger type drill made by the Chicago Pneumatic 
Company, and also by the Pneumelectric Company of Syracuse, 
N. Y. These drills weigh about 50 pounds, and from experiments 
we are making with these drills, they seem to drill the coal satis- 
factorily. We are making tests on drilling rock which are not 
complete enough to arrive at a conclusion. If these drills will stand 
up on both coal and rock, they should be a very good drill for all 
mine purposes. 


Of the second type or percussion drill, the amount of machinery 
makes these drills very heavy and cumbersome and restrict their 
use, and unless considerable improvement is made on them, they 
are not a practical all around mine drill. 











Figure 44—Electric Coal Drill. 


An electrical drill to be a success in the coal regions must be 
able to compete with a jackhammer air drill which is in general 
use; that is, a drill not exceeding 55 pounds in weight, to be able 
to drill either coal or rock at a good speed; to be able to stand 
the work with a low maintenance cost not to exceed that of the 
jackhammer, also to be so constructed as to eliminate any possibility 
of short circuiting and shocking the miner, as one shock from a 
drill will finish any further use of it by that man, and it must be 
adapted for work under both dry and wet conditions. 








Figure 45—The Jackhammer. 


Jackhammer Drill 


The jackhammer is an air driven machine capable of being 
carried by the miner from place to place. It is 18 inches long with 
a cylinder diameter of 2% inches by a stroke of 2 inches with an 
air connection for 34 inch hose, and weighs 40 pounds. Fig. 45 
shows the jackhammer drill with its hose connection to air valve. 
In construction the machine is very simple. A rifled bar and ratchet 
are located in the back of the cylinder, and impart rotation to the 
piston, which in turn imparts rotation to the drill. The spring 
device on the lower end is used to hold the drill in the machine. 
The handles on the other end are sometimes rubber covered, making 
it easier for the operator to hold the machine to its work. These 
details are shown in Fig. 46, which is a skeleton view of the jack- 
hammer. Drills may be used in this machine up to 12 feet in length. 
Twisted drills are being employed generally for drilling coal, and 
solid hexagonal chisel pointed bits are used in the rock. 





Figure 46—Jackhammer in Skeleton. 


36 


The jackhammer will drill in the coal from 1% to 2 feet per 
minute actual drilling time. Taking into consideration the time 
of rigging machine and getting ready to drill, from 9 to 12 inches 
can be drilled in the coal per minute. ‘The actual drilling time 
in rock is from 1 minute to 1% minutes per foot, depending, of 
course, upon the hardness of the rock. 





Figure 47—Sullivan Electrically Driven Portable Air Compressor. 


Compressors 


While the portable air compressor can hardly be considered an 
auxiliary mining machine, nevertheless, it plays an important part 
in driving jackhammers in mines not equipped with a central air 
compressor plant. Even where there is a central plant, it is some- 
times economical in remote sections of the mine to install a portable 
air compressor. The compressor is driven by an electric motor, and 
is suitable for pressure of from 50 to 100 pounds. The machine is 
self-contained and mounted on a truck of any gauge to suit condi- 


tions. An illustration of a portable air compressor is shown in 
Fig. 47. 


PA 
CHAE i Re ; 
LOADING APPLIANCES 


This class of machinery came into mining partly as a natural 
sequence to coal cutting and partly to fulfill a field of its own. 
These appliances in use can be divided as follows: 


(a) Shovels and loading machines. 
(b) Conveyors. 
Loy ocraners: 


Figure 48—Thew Electric Shovel Built for Underground Use, 





38 


(a) Mechanical Shoveling 


Mechanical shoveling is largely the outcome of attempts to 
apply steam shovel methods to underground work. It is only a 
recent development and has resulted in the design of two distinct 
types of machines. The first of these types is shown in Fig. 48, 
and is a steam shovel only slightly altered in its general arrange- 
ment, so as to be capable of operation in underground chambers, 
where limitations of space, both horizontally and vertically, have to 
be overcome. The shovel illustrated is electrically driven, provided 
with boom and bucket, and moves on a caterpillar track. It is 


Figure 49—Recent Photograph of No. 2 Type Myers-Whaley Company 
Shoveling Machine in a 4!4 Seam of Coal. 





oh) 


capable of handling 400 tons per day under favorable conditions. 
The sketch readily illustrates the fact that these machines can only 
be utilized in very thick beds, their design precluding performance 
in beds less than 9 feet thick, and for this reason their sphere of 
usefulness is limited. 


A type of loading machine is the Myers-Whaley Loader. This 
machine is a relatively low and long machine, self-propelled on the 
mine tracks, with a special shovel in front and a conveyor at the 
back. Fig. 49 shows the operation of this machine in a chamber 
where the vein is only 414 feet in height. The shovel is the most 
peculiar part of this machine. It is a double revolving scoop, one 
within and discharging to the other. The first scoop has the thrust 
motion, picks up its load, turns backward and unloads to the second 
scoop, which repeating the revolution in time to return below the 
first scoop, loads on to the conveyor and hence to the car. The 
machine swings radially two ways, the front end so that it can 
operate over the width of the room, and the back end with the con- 
veyor so that loading can be done into the car in practically any 
position. Where there is a large tonnage to load, this machine can 
do. considerable work, and has been known to load at the rate of 
20 to 40 tons per hour. In Virginia, this machine was used in a 
long-wall face, with the cars following, and loaded 250 tons in 8 
hours, an average of 30 tons per man employed. The coal was 4 to 5 
feet thick. A photograph of this type of machine loading culm is 
shown in Fig. 50. The success of any mechanical loading machine 
depends on continuity of operation, and when there are only a few 
tons per place and much loss of time traveling from room to room, 
their efficiency is low. Further, they are bulky, and awkward to 
handle in any but the highest and best of mine roads. 














Figure 50—No. 4 Size Machine Loading Anthracite Waste Dump. Myers- 
Whaley Loading Machine Loading Culm. 


(b) Conveyors 


In very thin beds, or where the cost of moving bottom or top 
rock to obtain height sufficient for the mine car to follow to the face, 
is prohibitive, the coal is sometimes loaded into the mine cars by 


AO 


means of a conveyor line, traveling along the long-wall face to the 
mine car on the gangway. 





Figure 51—Perspective View of Complete Jeffrey Chain Conveyor Outfit. 


When mining machines are used in very thin beds, the problem 
of moving the coal is a serious one. The cost of taking up bottom 
rock in headings is an enormous item of expense. With main con- 
veyors in lateral headings and scrapers and conveyors feeding the 
main conveyors, the coal could be delivered to the main headings 
and loaded on cars, thus doing away with a great deal of rock work. 
Next to the mining machine, no improvements in mining thin beds 
have been more valuable for handling and loading coal than the con- 
veyor and its later developments. Notwithstanding that the con- 
veyor is better adapted for long-wall work, and that this method of 
mining is very much more practiced in European countries than in 
\\the United States, the conveyor is the invention of an American. 
There are a number of forms of conveyors used for handling coal 
in the mines, the chain and trough conveyor, the belt conveyor, 
consisting of an endless belt of canvas or rubber, and the moving 
trough conveyor. The first mentioned, or the chain and trough 
conveyor, is the form mostly used for handling anthracite. ‘The 
links are from 9 inches to 12 inches wide moving in a steel plate 
trough with flaring sides, the return run of the chain being made 
over an angle steel track located under the trough. The trough 
is made in sections from 12 to 16 feet long, supported on steel legs 
or stands, and the conveyor is operated by an electric motor placed 
near the discharge and speed of travel is from 90 to 125 feet per 
minute. Fig. 51 shows a perspective view of the conveyor. The 
chain on this conveyor is 9 inches wide, travels 90 feet per minute 
with a capacity of ten tons per hour. The full length of the con- 
veyor may be shifted with bars so that it is kept close to the work- 
ing face at all times. Fig. 96 shows the chain that drives the 
sprocket wheel, which in turn moves the conveyor line. 


The belt conveyor is similar in action to the trough conveyor. 
Instead of a chain, however, there is a moving belt running on 
rollers which carries the material from face to car. 


41 


BUMPING TROUGH CONVEYOR INCLINED SEAMS. Fic 52 


DETAIL 





RNA 
a 


WE 
YY I 
WE WIKS 


Yo Ny 





A form of conveyor much used in European countries is the 
moving trough conveyor shown in Fig. 52. The actuating mechan- 
ism is shown in Fig. 53. The essential details of operation are 
that one motion of the motor pulls the trough up the pitch for a 


42 


few inches (and artificially created by the use of wheels in an in- 
clined trough) the reciprocating motion releases it. This conveyor 
thus abruptly falls away after the material has been carried for- 
ward, and so in this manner shifts its contents along the trough. 
This*repeats on the next cyclesoisthesmoto: 


ACTUATING MECHANISM OF TROUGH 
CONVEYOR SYSTEM 














DIRECTICNY 
OF TRAVEL 








43 


These appliances have been placed under the head of conveyors 
and as such they are not loaders in the strict sense of the term. 
The loader is a machine which mechanically loads the cars, while 
these appliances do not, as they have to be themselves loaded by the 
miner or his laborer. 


(c) Scrapers 


In the development of thin coal mining, the application of the 
scraper has played an important part. This device is more flexible 
than a conveyor and has the advantage over the conveyor in that it 
loads itself and is better adapted to chamber mining than the con- 
veyor where the pavement is hard. At the same time, the scraper 
may be used advantageously for long-wall mining. 





Figure 54—Perspective View of Scraper. 


44 


A perspective view of the scraper is shown in Fig. 54. In shape, 
it is similar to the old fashioned snow plow, but it does its work 
with the wide end foremost. It is built up from steel plates, the 
bottom plate on the sides being slightly curved inward so as to 
scoop the coal. The sides are braced with a piece of channel iron. 
Three sizes are made. 














Figure 55—‘‘Pneumelectric’’ Electrically Driven Two Drum Hoist 





Figure 56—Lidgewood Electrically Driven Portable Four Drum Hoist. 


45 


The hoist operating the scoop is either stationary or portable; 
the stationary hoist has two drums, Fig. 55, and the portable hoist 
‘four drums, Fig. 56. The portable hoist is mounted on a self-pro- 
pelled truck. Two of the drums are used to haul the scraper back- 
ward and forward, one drum carrying the main rope and the other 
drum the tail rope. The two drums on the end are used to pull 
empty and loaded cars in place. 






y GA | 

Y YY | 

Ly ! 

| 

A | 

| 

| 

| 

GY | 

| 

| 

| 

| 

YA i | 

H OC, 

Z| Y | 

Y, i | 

Y ii PILL AL 

Zit | 

Y i Ye | 

i! | 

Y { 

pe LLL“ Da AGL YUN 
Tete | GANGWAY OF Sferakss)" 

| he eB, | 
; : me Fie, FRi@: Fil, _ File) 
| (a) () | 
LEO Sp i my 






7 Vs Wht YM. 


and Scraper Line. 


Figure 58—Section of Two Drum Hoist Through Chamber and Gangway. 


Fig. 57 is a plan showing the arrangement for a two-drum hoist, 
and Fig. 58 is a longitudinal view. The hoist is set in a cross-cut 
between the gangway and airway for safety, and from this point 
is able to handle the scraper in at least five chambers. In the figure 
the hoist is scraping coal from the chamber opposite the cross-cut. 
In operation with the scraper at the car, the tail rope drum is started 
and pulls the scraper to the face of the chamber, the tail rope pulley 
being located at the far end of the chamber. When the scraper 
reaches the desired point at the face, the engineer is given a signal 


46 


to stop. The scraper man then shifts the scraper to the loose coal; 
the main rope drum is started and the scraper fills itself with coal, 
the operation being continuous until the scraper discharges its 
load in the mine car. 


The direction of the travel of the loaded scraper is regulated 
by snatch blocks fastened to the rib or to the jacks. It requires 
from four to seven scraper loads to fill a mine car, depending upon 
Liersize Olrcal. 








De YM Yh; 









PILLAR 





YY \\ 





GY Un El 
Ge NERA LAYOUT Sor ore Deut A 


Yj 





Zp ZA R&S WY Y 
Figure 59—Cross Section of Four Drum Hoist, Chamber and Gangway. 


A plan of the arrangement for the four-drum or portable hoist 
is shown in Fig. 59. The manipulation of the scraper is practically 
the same as the two-drum hoist. The arrangements of the tracks, 
however, is different. It will be noted that in front of each chamber 
there is a double track, and between the chambers there are only 
three rails. This arrangement of tracks saves the cutting of rock 
both for height and width. The ropes and pulleys for the manipu- 
lation of the light and loaded cars are plainly shown. Fig. 60 shows 
a longitudinal section of the chamber and a cross-section of the 
gangway, mine car and hoist. 


At “O” is shown a large wood wheel that changes the direction 
of the scraper when going up the chamber. 









WH VW 





(OF 
SHS 





WAY, Ya 
ay 


Figure 60—General Layout for Four Drum Hoist. 


47 


CHAPTER 5 
METHODS OF OPERATION 


Methods of operation may be discussed under three heads, viz: 


(a) Headings 
(b) Chambers 
(c) Long-wall 


In anthracite mining there are so many different conditions to 
meet that it necessarily follows that there will be a great many 
ditferent methods used to meet these conditions. Not all areas 
in the mines are suitable for machine mining. This is due, in a 
measure, to the fact that when first laying out the plan of operation, 
the possibilities of machine mining were not taken into considera- 
tion. The conditions that tend to make the mining machine emi- 
nently successful are: ample power, a bed lying practically level, 
with a good roof, a hard smooth bottom, and wide places free from 
rolls. On the other hand, the machine will not be a success when 
a bed pitches over 15 degrees in chamber work, and contains an /~ 
abnormal amount of sulphur balls or other hard impurities, when 
faulty rock benches come in the bottom, or the bottom is very 
irregular. Much the same remarks are applicable to the conveyor, 
but the scraper being much more flexible, can be used under almost 
any conditions. 


og 


(a) Headings 


No matter what method of deveolpment is used in mining, it is 
necessary to maintain headings, or gangways, and airways, and one 
of the heaviest items of expense in mining is driving these main 
arteries. It is a common practice to drive headings on a water level, 
iMate, the heddiueiis dimven in ‘the coal at suchia pitch or grade 
that the water flows toward the mine opening. This is apt to make 
a crooked heading and adds considerably to the length. To make 
a straight heading under conditions of this kind would require the 
cutting of so much rock that the mining machine would be useless. 
Owing to the narrowness of headings, which are driven from 12 to , 
14 feet wide, the short-wall machine is not as efficient as in chamber 
or long-wall work. Even when the heading is driven straight, it. 
takes just as much time to unload, making the sumping cut, and 
reload in a heading as in a chamber, and the undercut is not more 
than half as long, while the work requires much more attention 
and consequently takes more time. In all probability the best 
machine for heading work is the are wall or the straight face ma- 
chine as described on pages 10 to 13, with the preference given to 
the straight face machine. The method of operating these ma- 
chines is shown in Figs. 6 and 8. This machine will cut a head- 
ing just as straight as the track is laid. If the tracks are on a curve 
in a crooked heading, the machine will cut on a curve and maintain 
a normal face. Furthermore, the machine is self-contained and is 


48 


ready for cutting the moment it reaches the face, thereby saving the 
time of unloading and loading as would be the case in a short-wall 
machine. 


One objection of this type of machine is that the tracks must be 
kept very close to the face. This sometimes would cause delays, 
especially where there is heavy bottom rock to be removed. 


(b) Chambers 


Practically all of the anthracite mines are worked by chambers 
“opened from headings. In the bituminous mines this method is 
known as “room and pillar” mining. Chambers are driven from 20 
to 40 feet wide with a pillar between each chamber from 16 to 50 
feet through. These measurements depend upon the depth of bed 
under the surface, the nature of the roof, and sometimes the strata 
underlying the bed. The wider the chamber, the greater will be the 
efhciency of the mining machine. 


IS2 IE RSL EE tes 
° Hf | ‘ ‘ 4 
LJ Bd s \] “hea etal sr,ane 
FHF ie ° - fe pebtedn E 
s 7 ‘ wv for’ < tJe. 
‘ 3 a . ° « 
AY Be oO ‘ 2 
} Lf Is iL) * 
is fs | “ 
ites n AN | | / 
ae tr Prine, \ ‘s 
. aZarrs a) : 
i oe | 
Be BS © Bur —, 
3 y i 





| AG) RT 





Figure 61—Typical Plan of an Anthracite Machine Mining Place. 


Fig. 61 shows a plan of the method of opening chambers off 
headings. 


The cycle of operations in undercutting chambers might be 
classified as follows: 


(1) Unloading and moving machine to the face. 
(2) Sumping the cutter arm under the coal. 

(3) Undercutting across the face. 

(4) Moving out and loading. 

(5) Traveling to the next chamber. 


49 


The percentage of the total time consumed in cutting coal, 
moving machine, and changing bits, under normal working condi- 
tions would be approximately as follows 


Sere LOCO dL liprvetr ech eS LANE NS cduct .is co ceo 44% 
PVLOMRTI OU MACH Tem sen ets Wemete. a tyreig at hie aie voc 36% 
Co Wg Tea kat egal 8p eos pos ETN Sait 9 ye 1 eee ara 20% 


In conveyor or scraper chambers, the mining machine moves 
itself from the heading to the working face and when the chambers 
get to such a length that cross-cuts are opened, the mining machine 
is taken to the next chamber through the nearest cross-cut, saving 
considerable travel. 


In order to more clearly show the actual operation of the mining 
machine, the following illustrations have been taken from photo- 
graphs made in the mines of a short-wall or continuous cutting 
machine. The complete cycle of operations is shown in cutting one 
chamber from the time the machine is being unloaded from the 
truck until it is on the heading going to another chamber on a self- 
propelled truck. Beside the figure is shown a plan view of the 
operation. Then follows the illustration showing the drillers, 
miners charging the holes fired by electric battery and the results 
of shot. The chamber in the illustration is 30 feet wide with a 
thickness of bed of about four feet. The undercut is six feet and 
thickness of kerf 534 inches. 






DRAELING 








Mp, tases 
en LO): ioe | i 
ai y a one A 

e e © “4 ‘ 
@ e = i y 


SS 





Figure 62—Unloading from Truck. 


Pio o2eeolowss theeauachine leaving the “truck with’ the 
machine runner at the driving mechanism, and the machine helper 
resting his hand on the jack to the bottom of which the feed rope 
has been fastened. The machine runner starts the feed drum and 
the feed rope drags the machine off the truck with no laborious 
work of either the machine runner or machine helper. 


50 


Fig. 63 shows the machine in a position ready to sump in the 
right hand corner of the chamber with the machine helper standing 
close to the forward jack that is set to drag the jib or cutter arm 
under the coal. The jack to the right of the “figure is known as the 






TELL ROPE SHEAVER 
DRAGLINE SHOOK. 





Figure 63—Ready to Sump. 


tail jack and is sed to anchor the tail rope which controls ithe team 
end of the machine while sumping cut is being made. All of the 
operations to this point have been made on fast feed, there being 
two feeds to the machine, one propelling or moving the machine and 
the other for cutting. The ratiovof the difference insthiestecdam 
about twelve to one, 


aff’ 
a V/ 
HOS 


DRAGLNE 


STZEL Rove 





Figure 64—Sumped. 


tn 
— 


Fig. 64 shows the cutter bar entirely under the coal a distance 
of six feet. Up to this point the operation has consumed about 
twelve minutes. When the sumping is complete, the jacks are 
re-arranged, the tail jack is set up two or three feet from the face 
near the right hand rib. The top of the jack is shown in line with 
the machine runner’s head. The feed rope is unwound from the 
drum and taken to the left hand rib near the face and anchored. 
The machine is now ready to begin the cut across the face. 









DORAGLNE 


eeneccases rote 





Figure 65—Machine Half Way Across Chamber. 


Pigs Oo shows the machincrnrthe center ofthe chamber. bhe 
machine helper is shoveling the cuttings away from the machine, 
and the machine runner is closely observing the working of the 
machine. It will be noted thatthe jack has not been moved since 
commencing the cut, and unless sulphur or some hard material is 
in the way of the cutter, this jack stays in place until the machine 
gets to the left hand corner. The two wooden wedges in the kerf 
to the right of the machine have been placed there to keep the 
bench immediately above, from falling and thus blocking the under- 
cut. These wedges will be removed before setting off the shots. 


Fig. 66 shows the machine in the left hand corner of the room 
with the undercut practically completed, the cut showing very 
clearly. When the machine approaches the left rib the machine 
runner watches closely to keep his width of chamber correct, and 
the rib properly aligned. He does this by the way he draws the 


ay 






@SNMIDSeaGd 





Figure 66—Machine in Left-Hand Corner of Chamber. 


machine from the undercut. If the chamber were somewhat narrow 
the cutter bar would be swung to the left by holding back the rear 
end of the machine with the tail jacks =lhesplan at left of picture 
shows the operation of widening the chamber. 








Y Le Li 
TNUSE EITHER ANCHOR OR JACK. 
— ‘tes = 


USE SINGLE ROPE WHERE 
UT 


THE ic Bonvans 18 aco! 


{Ce 
ra ~ ae | 




















Figure 67—Machine Returning to Truck After Completing Cut 


Fig. 67 shows the machine being withdrawn from the completed 
cut preparatory to reloading on the truck. When dragging the 
machine around the place the cutter chain does not rev volve, the 
feed drum working independently of the cutter chain mechanism. 


53 


The position of the machine as shown in the figure is about parallel 
with the face. The machine helper has placed the jack in such a 
position that the machine will drag itself in a position to be loaded 
on the truck. All of the above operations have been performed 
with no hard labor on the part of the operatives. 


The length of time consumed from the time the machine left 
the heading until it returned to the heading was fifty minutes. 





Figure 68—Machine on Gangway Going to Next Chamber. 


Fig. 68 shows the machine traveling along the gangway or main 
road to the next chamber. The machine moves from working place 
to working place on a self-propelled truck, actuated by direct trans- 
mission from the motor of the machine itself to the track wheels 
of the truck. On this machine is a chain guard which slides under 
the machine when sumping. In the figure the machine helper is 
‘sitting directly over the end of the chain guard. The machine 
runner makes connection with the trolley wire by what might be 
termed a “hand trolley pole.” This device is well insulated so that 
there is no danger to the operative. 


It very often happens when the machine is making an under- 
cut that the bits will come in contact with a deposit of sulphur 
or some other very hard impurity in the bed, or the bits may be 
dulled before the cut is completed, necessitating the withdrawal of 
the machine from the undercut.in order to change and reset the 
bits. The following figures illustrate the methods used. 


Fig. 69 shows the method of removing a deposit of sulphur, 
(a) shows the first position of the machine by dotted line. In order 
to place the machine in this position the drag line is slackened and 
the feed line pulls the machine ahead, thus cutting partly around 
the obstruction. The drag line is then tightened and drags the 





RAD LIN K 





Uy a 


Figure 69—Method of Cutting Around a Sulphur Ball. 


head of the machine, with the assistance of the feed line, gradually 
into the position shown by solid line, thus cutting partly around 
the other side of obstruction. The machine is then brought to a 
normal position as shown in (b) and the obstruction is jerked out. 


oe fj Lie y 
‘ PRILL HOLE FOR ANCHOR DEEPER if 
H THAN LENGTH OF ANCHOR. ‘ 
t TO REMOVE, DRIVE ANCHOR H 
‘ IN, BEING TARERED, THIS i 
H WiLL RELEASE /T. \ 
' —Y, : 
' d 
‘ , Go, H 
i YY 
4 ‘ 
' 7, ‘ 
[ ; 1 
ee NAN t 
4, v 
C {] 
\ 
Y 7 : aS? ° 
\ 
Gung, 
y 
Ue a 





Figure 70—Method Used in Removing Machines to Reset Bits, 


Fig. 70 shows the method used in removing the machine from 
the undercut in order to renew the bits, (a) shows the machine with 
the drag line on the left side of the head of the machine pulling the 
cutter arm free from the kerf. (b) Shows the machine returning 
to cutting position after the bits have been renewed. ‘The drag 
line is fastened to the righthand rib and the feed line held stationary. 





Figure 71—(a) Method of Sumping When Props Are Close to Face. 
(b) Method of Widening Chamber. 


Fig. 71 (a) shows the manipulation of the machine for sumping 
when props are set close to the face; (b) shows machine widening 
a chamber. 

The use of scraper equipments and the elimination of any kind 
of roadway in the chamber made it necessary to devise some new 


5 


tn 


way of handling the mining machine when changing from one 
chamber to another. It is obvious that the task of moving up to 
scoop platform level at the gangway, or lowering off at that point 
would be too toilsome and time consuming to be practical. 


The following system was finally worked out: the chambers 
set aside for scraper work are driven a distance of about 35 feet. 


METHOD OF MOVING MING MACHINE WITHOUT Th 


ewe ori 088. 









CROSS CUT 


N 
Nigh e 


- 





CROSS CUT 
GANG WAY 








sLine of Bottom Rock 











CROSS CUT 


56 


Cross-cuts are driven between all of them. The machine is placed 
in the first one and thereafter all change from chamber to chamber 
is made through cross-cuts. Fig. 72 shows a typical case. At “A” 
the machine has just been unsumped and a jack set down the cham- 
ber. The machine is pulled back to “B,” then over to “C,” then to 
“D,” where it is sumped in and a new cut started. 


After the undercut has been completed, the jackhammer men 
drill the holes. The holes are started about 18 inches below the 
roof and the drills are placed at such an angle that when the drill 
hole is in six feet, the end of the hole will be from four to six inches 
below the roof. As a general rule, there will be four holes in a 
thirty-foot chamber. The holes in either corner of the chamber are 
placed about two feet from the rib. The time consumed in drilling 
one hole six feet deep.is about four minutes. The total time for 
drilling the four holes and moving drill to next chamber is about 
forty minutes. Fig. 73 shows.the drill hole in the left hand corner 
of chamber. The trestle on which the machine rests gives direction 
to the drill and also relieves the operatives. Fig. 74. In this figure 
the jackhammer men are drilling the bottom rock. The rock in this 
place is about two feet thick. 





Figure 73—Drilling. 


The holes are started as close to the bottom as possible, the 
drill resting on a one inch board, which is given a slight elevation 
at the end by placing a block under the board, as shown in the figure. 
The jackhammer man sits on the board and holds his feet against 
the hammer, thus guiding and holding it in place. At the face the 
trestle is shown that was used to hold the jackhammer. 


Sif 











Figure 74—Jackhammer Men Drilling Bottom Rock. 


After the holes are drilled, the machine miner and his helper 
charge the holes which consists of cleaning out the drill hole, plac- 
ing the charge, tamping and wiring. From 12 to 15 inches of blast- 
ing powder is used in each hole, the amount of explosive depending 
upon the structure of the bed. Before the charge is placed in the 
drill hole, the miner primes the cartridge with an electric squib. 
The squibs have two electric wires fastened to them from four to 
eight feet long. These wires are in turn attached to the lead wire. 
Fig. 75 shows the miner and his helper charging one of the holes 
with explosives preparatory to blasting the coal. Fig. 76. The 
four drill holes have been connected with electric wire, and then 
to the battery. The figure shows the miner in a safe place pressing 
down the lever that fires the shot. . Fig. 77 shows the result of the 
shot. The coal has been brought down in large pieces, so there will 
be very little waste. The coal in this section is loaded by hand. 
If this same chamber had been “shot off the solid,’ it would have 
required from 10 to 13 drill holes with 18 to 30 inches of powder 
in each hole. With this amount of powder the coal would have been 
shattered and partly blown in the gob. 


Gathering and loading coal by means of the scraper is probably 
one of the most practical and simple methods used. ‘The scraper 
loads itself and does not require hard labor on the part of the opera- 
tives. 


58 














Figure 75—Charging Holes. 





Figure 76—Miner in Safe Place with Electric Battery Firing Shot. 








Figure 77—Result of the Shot. 


Fig. 78 shows the scraper partly loaded near the face of the 
chamber. The man with his hands on the back end of the scraper 
is standing over the tail rope which is used to haul the scraper back 
after it has deposited its load in the mine car. On the left is shown 
a large wooden buffer wheel that changes the direction of the rope 
pulling the empty scraper. It will be noted in the foreground of 
the ticlreé-thatetherscraper cleans the-floor very well; so that there 
is not much shoveling. 





Figure 78—Scraper Starting from Face of Chamber. 


60 


Fig. 79 shows the scraper going down the chamber entirely 
loaded. From the last figure to the point where we see the scraper 
now, it has gathered sufficient coal to have really placed topping 
on itself. Note the clean appearance of the chamber. The tail rope 
is seen traveling around the large wooden wheel. 








Figure 79—Scraper Going Down Chamber. 


Fig. 80 shows the scraper unloading into the mine car. Owing 
to the fact that the scraper has no bottom, the coal begins to drop 
into the car as soon as the front end of the scraper reaches the end 








Figure 80—Scraper Discharging Its Load in Mine Car. 


61 


of the apron. The clevis block fastened to the roof and the bridel 
chain on the front end of the scraper are distinctly seen, also the tail 
rope fastened on the rear of the scraper. Some idea of the height 
of bed may be gained by the man sitting on the floor of bed near 
the left hand side of the figure. 


Fie. 81. This figure is intended to show the adjustable apron 
over the car. The apron is made to raise and lower. When the car 
is empty the apron is lowered, thus preventing the coal from break- 
ing; as the car is loaded the apron is raised. The snatch block to 
the right of car is plainly seen. This device changes the direction 
of the haulage rope. The small wires seen near roof are the elec- 
trical signal wires connecting the face of the chamber with the 
engine and the loader at the car. 





Figure 81—Adjustable Apron. 


Fig. 82. In this figure the apron is shown raised to the highest 
point and the scraper is placing the last load on the car. The man 
to the right arranges the lumps of coal on top of the car so that 
they will not fall from the car when being transported to the breaker. 
The loader has his thumb on the push button to signal the engineer 
when the scraper has reached the right point over the car. 


The portable hoist carries four drums and is operated by an 
electric motor. In operation it is located directly in front of the 
loading apron, hauling the scraper line in the same way as did the 
stationary drums. Two of the drums on this hoist are used to shift 


62 








Figure 82—Putting Last Scraper Load on Mine Car. 


the loaded and empty cars. In this way most any number of cars 
may be loaded without depending on mules or any other motive 
power. When the full trip is loaded, it is hauled to the foot of the 
shaft by an electric locomotive. 








Figure 83—Scraper Operated by Four Drum Hoist. 


The amount of power consumed varies considerably, due to 
a number of factors. The most important are, the nature of the 
material cut, condition of floor of bed, pitch of bed and the machine 


ULC Ia 


63 


The length of cutter arm and width of kerf have an important 
bearing on power consumption. Under average cutting conditions 
(with a cutter arm six feet long and a 534 inch kerf) .06 K.W. hours 
per square foot undercut would be consumed. In other words, it 
would require 7.8 K.W. hours to undercut a depth of six feet a 
chamber 30 feet wide. Added to this is the power consumed in 
transporting the machine from place to place, unloading, handling 
the machine at face, and loading, probably making a total con- 
sumption of power for the full cycle of undercutting a chamber, 


Peatoglo Ke We 


The power consumed in operating scrapers and conveyors de- 
pends on their size and length and the amount of coal handled some 
place within the limits of 8 to 20 H.-P. 


The horse-power required for the following machines would be 
approximately: 


(CTE CRB RSG 2 Ao mee cu ere oe ae 20 to 40 
SC RNOR: Pept oe eee eee ae roe deeb 
POntable Air @ampressons 4 44 hice 12 to 24 


To obtain the best efficiency from a mining machine, it should 
be worked on a long face. This not only applies to the long-wall 
machine, but also the short-wall, or continuous cutter. 


Jackhammer Mining and Scraper Loading 


It has been found an advantage in the face where no electric 
current is available for mining machines, to use jackhammers to 
blow the coal off the solid and load by means of the scraper. In 
this work a great deal depends upon the miner so that the holes 
are drilled to the best advantage and the least amount of power 
used. The miner drills the whole face of the chamber as a rule, 
taking from 8 to 20 6-foot holes, depending on the nature of 
the coal and cleavage. The greatest difficulty encountered in this 
work in thin veins is the firing where squib or instantaneous elec- 
tric exploders are used, every hole or every two holes having to be 
fired separately, thus consuming a great deal of time. To overcome 
this difficulty, the following method was tried and found to work 
very satisfactorily. The face was drilled with 2 or 4 opening or 
cut holes (A) as shown in Fig. 84, and then the rest of the holes 
(B, C, D, E,) were drilled as relief holes. 


64 


PLAN OF FACE 





ae OF FACE 
Figure 84. 


Holes “A” were fired with instantaneous electric exploders and 
then holes B, C, D and E were charged, connected and fired by one 
pull of the battery using electric delay action exploders, each delay 
being sixeseconds. The exploders placed™in’ holess .@ scomsoussm: 
seconds later, exploders placed in holes ~D” six vseconds behina 
“C,” exploders placed in holes “E’™ six seconds behind™ D.” ~ These 
exploders can be obtained from the Du Pont Company in six differ- 
ent delays, thus permitting seven delay holes or series of holes by 
using an instantaneous exploder and the six delays. By means of 
these exploders two sets of firing will explode an ordinary chamber 
face and only necessitate the miner going back once in the smoke, 
reducing the firing time /0% and gre eatly increasing the efficiency 
of the operation. 


In cate mining for scraper loading, the opening hole 
shouldepeaplaccdminmitic with the scraper ro adway or chuteway 
wherever possible as these holes being fired first, the relieving holes 
will naturally throw the coal toward this opening and then make 
the scraper work easier and have less tendency to blow coal in the 
gob. 


The method of loading out coal thus cut is practically the same 
as described in machine mining. 


CN 
wt 


ROBBING WITH SCRAPER 


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Seat 
QV) 


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SO a 
WANA ENS 
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wy 


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Pay A\\\@~s 


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HOIST ROOM 


Figure 85. 


x 
4 aN AN VA TOV 
Li SN eR a aN 


PAZ 
oo} 





66 


The scraper is being used in pillar robbing in thin veins, the 
only difference as compared to hand robbing is to keep the robbing 
of each pillar at any angle, as shown in Fig. 85, wherever possible 
so as the scoop can get along the face of the-pillar more readily 
than if the pillar is cut off square, and also to keep the props if 
possible six to seven feet from the face of the pillar in order to allow 
the scoop to get in along the face of the pillar. 


(c) Long-wall 


There are two general systems of long-wall mining; long-wall 
advancing and long-wall retreating. In long-wall advancing, the 
face is started near the bottom of the shaft, or other mine opening, 
and advances toward the boundary lines, or out-cropping of the 
property, the roads being maintained by pack-walls on either side. 
By this method the mines are opened rapidly. 


In long-wall retreating, narrow headings are driven to the 
boundary lines of the property and the long-wall faces are started 
from these points, the coal being mined out completely as the face 
approaches the mine opening. In either of the systems long faces 
will be obtained, making an ideal condition for mining machines. 
The method generally used in anthracite mining might be called a 
long-wall block system, the blocks being started at almost any con- 
venient place in the mines, preferably near the boundary of the 


property. 


There are a number of conditions to be taken into consideration 
before a method of obtaining a long face can be adopted in any 
bed. The nature of the roof, the nature of the overlying strata for 
at least fifty feet above the bed, overlying beds, the nearness of the 
overlying beds, the thickness of the coal, the nature of the coal, 
strata immediately below the bed, and the pitch and contour of the 
bed should be taken into consideration. Another important point 
to be considered is the organization of the operatives. Long-wall 
mining should not be undertaken unless a few of the operatives are 
practical long-wall miners. 


Fig. 86 shows the plan of a system of mining somewhat similar 
to the chamber and pillar mining. The gangways are driven 400 
to 500 feet apart, with sufficient width so that all impurities in the 
bed, and the bottom rock, may be packed alongside the road, leaving 
sufficient space between the back of wall and rib to allow a passage- 
way for the air. 


From each gangway narrow places are driven in line until they 
meet near the center between the gangways. ‘These narrow places 
are numbered 1 to 7 and are generally driven by three shifts per 
24 hours day. The coal is moved either in buggies or by conveyors. 
Cross-cuts are driven between these narrow places for ventilation. 


69 


Fig. 87 shows a plan of working a long-wall face in which most 
of the coal is taken out. The airway is driven as a dog hole, and 
the coal is taken through the cross-cuts to the gangway. The gang- 
Way 1s driven narrow. 


LATERAL LONGWALL SYSTEM. 












Counters are driven up from gangresy to boundry or crop: 
Qpemngs are driven peretle/ to boundry or crop 
Machines make Longwall cuts in these openings 

Casal 1s logded into lalera/comyeyors by hand, did defjvered to 
Conveyors 17 cowtter which take it to cars 11 PINAY. 
Scengper may be used instead of comeyor: The roofs 
Supported by cogs. 































WZAZ 
{HIVE LETS 

















BOUNDARY OP OUTCROP 




















Figure 88. 


70 


The first openings are made in the block by driving places 12 
feet wide, these places being cut by machine and the coal loaded 
out by means of buggies or conveyor or scraper. As the coal is 
undercut and removed, cogs are built from 20 to 30 feet on centers 
in the direction of the cut and’ from 12 to 20 feet on centerseuar 
right angles to the cut, the cogs being staggered in adjacent rows. 
For blasting, holes are drilled from 15 to 20 feet apart. 


Fig. 88 is a plan of working that approaches Long-wall Mining. 
In this method, blocks may be opened at any place in the mines 
where there are no overlying beds, preferably, however, near the 
boundaries or outcrop. 


Counter headings are driven from the main heading at such a 
point that the first openings at the face of counter heading will give 
a long face on either side. In these first openings lateral conveyors 
are installed which deliver the coal to the main conveyor in the 
counter heading. This in turn loads the coal on the mine car in 
the gangway. All of the coal is removed, including the pillars on 
the counter. 


Fig. 89 shows another method of long-wall machine mining. 
> fa) > 


A pillar was left along the main heading and then each chamber 
was widened out to meet the next chamber and hence advancing 
long-wall face was formed and carried forward, the rock cut in the 
chamber roadway was used for pack. At the line A. B. very bad 
roof was struck and it was found to be an advantage to form a 
chamber and leave good pillar to strengthen the roof. After going 
about 100 feet, the roof became good again and the chambers were 
once more connected making a long-wall face, which was carried 
to the crop, the pillars left in were then robbed out. 


The vein was 32 inches in thickness and fairly level: The coal 
was undercut by a machine on a 1000 foot face. The cars were kept 
up to the face in the chamber, rock and coal loaded by hand, each 
pair of loaders taking half the distance between the roads to load. 


A good system of long-wall which has been adopted at the 
Hudson Coal Company’s Collieries is shown in Fig. 90. Gangways 
are first driven about 200 feet apart. A chamber is started off the 
lower gangway. This chamber is driven up until it meets the other 
gangway. As the chamber is being driven a line of break props is 
placed which causes a break in the roof, and timber cogs are built in. 
The object of the cogs is to take the roof as it gradually settles and 
ease the pressure down on the rock walls built as the long-wall 
advances. The long-wall face is started by making machine cuts 
down the rib of the chamber. After the long-wall face is started, the 
upper gangway is carried along as a part of the long-wall advance. 
The lower gangway must be driven separately to provide room 
for cars. 


71 


CHIAMBER-LONGWALL METHOD 


t 
CROP 













—f eo ras [=x = 
t RRR ere oH 
Q 


SPOS Bt 
RR i © 


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Oo 













BOY ANI 
MAT Pas Oat? 































Bing teraz Tee ae EE Sees kr Ky 2 Ae? Os Ayaan = 3S 
¢ nA Aer 2 p WZ Sion: ie 
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om =f, 
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be 
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SO 












Figure 89. 





ad 


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OVOY SNOLCG HONOASH[ NOILISS 


NMOG Nav, DOL PERCE eh. avoyu eae 








































































































































































































JIVJ TIWMDNO7] SGYVMO] ONIXOO] NOlLoaG 


SAVOY SNOLS S3ZAO NOILIW ONIHDByY DNIMOHS 


























G34uNI90 ot) ba, aaiay 

































































OSNANDIO SV ONIAWD sYosag 














———— 



























































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ot 











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my tek 
PUPS = 





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DEVELOPMENT OF LONGWALL OperaTiON | 


LTT 
Aa t Cangway Comed f, 
; ° Part or Lo agar 


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09 
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t t 
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Figure 91—Scoop and Loading Apron of a Long-Wall Face. The Prop at the 
Top of the Ladder Gives a Good Idea of the Thickness 
of Coal Worked. 








Figure 93—View at Long-Wall Face. 


75 





Figure 94—View at Long-Wall Face Showing Rock Pack Wall. 


Three stone roads are made by taking down top rock. The 
object of these stone roads 1s to provide rock for the stone pack walls 
to take the roof pressure and to provide ready and safe roads of 
access to the long-wall face. Loading is done by scraper. In order 


to show the thin beds that this system of long-wall is applicable to, 
reference is made to Figs. 91, 92, 93 and 94. 


Conveyors. 














Figure 95—Head of Conveyor Line Over Loaded Mine Car. 


76 


Fig. 95 shows the head of the conveyor line with a mine car 
under the head practically loaded with coal. Owing to the thinness 
of the bed, it becomes necessary to cut several feet of bottom rock 
in the gangway in order to give sufficient clearance for the car under 
the head of the conveyor, when the car is topped with coal. In some 
cases the roof is taken down directly over the head of conveyor in 
order to obtain height. In such cases it is not necessary to cut 
bottom rock. 








Figure 96—Conveyor Trough Near Face of Chamber. 


Fig. 96 shows the end of the conveyor near the face of the 
chamber and a part of the conveyor trough. The top of the con- 
veyors is built so there will be sufficient clearance between the top 
ot the trough and roof to allow the coal to be shoveled into the 
conveyor. In the figure, two laborers are loading the conveyor. 
Some idea of the height of the bed may be gathered from the stoop- 
ing position of the laborers. To the left of the conveyor line is 
shown a mining machine. 


With conveyors, where men have to load into the conveyors, 
each man has a certain distance of face to load out. Work usually 
commences, after the coal is blown down, by breaking it at one end 
of the distance to be covered, and from there on loading out continu- 
ously until completed. Generally this takes eight hours on a two to 
three hundred foot face, allowing for various time losses due to 
want of cars, stoppage of power and other causes. 


77 


Shifting of the conveyor is done at night, and with conveyors 
which stretch the full length of the face, the machine can be either 
shifted in sections or swung laterally over. Some conveyors are 
readily taken apart in eight to twelve foot sections, and these sec- 
tions are shoved bodily over to the new position, timber being cut 
and reset when necessary. ‘The motor end is taken first and then 
section by section until the top is reached, where the tightening 
arrangement comes into play to take up the slack. The other 
method consists of pinching and pushing over the bottom portion 
of the conveyor without uncoupling and following the curve so 
created up to the top. This process is repeated until the conveyor 
reaches its new line. With conveyors which are shorter than the 
face and usually run by a rope, this rope is used to haul the con- 
veyor through the timber into its new line. 


78 


- CHAPTER 5 
ORGANIZATION 


Arrangement of Operations 


Owing to the fact that machine mining in the anthracite region 
was only started a little more than nine years ago, and then only 
in a small way, it has been a problem to obtain practical men along 
this line of work. It is true that good practical men may be found 
in any anthracite mine, men who can turn their hands to almost 
any kind of work along mechanical lines, men who are willing and 
anxious to learn; but no matter how bright or how willing, it takes 
time to develop them along a line of work that is entirely strange 
to them. Asa general rule, the Operator has thought it to the best 
interest of his employes and himself to train the men in his mine to 
machine mining, rather than to go on the outside for help. The 
matter of getting efficient organizations to handle the machine min- 
ing sections has generally been difficult. 


The machine boss has a number of machines under his super- 
vision. He takes general charge of the machines and sees that they 
are properly worked and maintained. If possible, the machine boss 
should inspect each machine daily, and if this is impossible, owing 
to the number of machines or to the machines being distributed 
over a large area, he should designate some competent person or 
persons, preferably the machine runner, to make these inspections. 
The machine runner in the first place looks after the safety of the 
working places, sees that props are set, locates the places for drill- 
ing holes, charges and fires them, sees that the coal is properly 
loaded and the rock properly stored. The machine miner’s laborers 
assist the miner in blasting, by setting props, shifting rock and gob 
and doing other work at the direction of the miner. The machine 
runner by the aid of his helper operates the machines, and is re- 
sponsible for its proper working. He should be familiar with every 
part, and be able to manipulate its movement, whether undercutting 
or being shifted, with the least possible delay. 


After the coal is shot down, it is loaded in mine cars, and it is 
the duty of the loaders to see that the car is loaded with clean coal. 
Where mechanical loading is done, the organization is separate 
from the mining machine force, with the exception of the machine 
miner, who looks after the safety of the men. In scraper mining, the 
scraper boss takes general charge of the work, the scraper engineer 
operates the drums, mand the scraper man operates the scraper ‘at the 
working face. 


Care of Machines 


Most of the equipment connected with machine mining is 
costly equipment, and should be given care, not only on the part of 
the operator of the machine, but every employ e connected with this 


72 


branch of mining; there would then be more efficiency and not so 
much time lost on account of machine not being up to standard or 
breakdowns of some part of the equipment. The length of time a 
machine will be fit for service depends largely on the care it receives. 


Machines should be inspected at least once a week by a com- 
petent repair man who understands the mechanical and electrical 
details of the machine. The machine runner should inspect his 
machine each day as to the operating details. The weekly inspec- 
tion by repairmen should cover the following points: 


(1) Examine the controller and see that all contacts make 
good connections and are in good condition. 


(2) Examine the motor, seeing the commutator is clean, 
brushes working free, all electrical connections tight, motor bearing 
should be examined, examine armature to see there are no loose 
binding wires, see spacing is corrected between pole pieces and 
armature, and see that motor is cleaned. 


(3) On the resistance examine connections seeing they are 
tight, and that no grids are broken. 


(4) On the mechanical end, examine the friction clutch and 
see that it is properly oiled. Also examine bearings, and make sure 
that all the lubrication system is clean and working all right. 
Examine cutter bar to see that gibs are not badly worn so as not to 
allow the chain to drop out. Cutter chain should be examined 
for broken set screw picks, or blocks which should be changed 
AMOLUCE. 


The machine runner should see each day before running his 
machine that: 


(1) Vhe cutter chainwias proper tension: 


(2) The bits are right gauge and in good condition, and that 
all the bits are in the chain. 


(3) Be sure and oil all bearings at least twice a day and make 
sure oil is running all right. 


In operating the machine, the runner should watch his cutter 
chain for tension, and should stop and examine his bits after cutting 
ten feet, and change any bits which are bad. If more than two bits 
in seven blocks need to be changed, machine should be pulled from 
under the cut and bits then changed. This will help to reduce many 
troubles we are now having with our machines, both mechanically 
and electrically. The runner should watch his cuttings carefully to 
see that he is not cutting into rock. 


A book of instructions on care and operation is issued by the 
Machine Mining Companies, and each colliery using machines 
should have a book. 








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4 hi i te 
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA 


NMC 


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